Wives' club enjoyed tour of Job's Didcot dairy (From Oxford Mail)

Wives' club enjoyed tour of Job's Didcot dairy

10:00am Monday 8th February 2010 in Memory Lane By John Chipperfield

DOZENS of pictures must have been taken at this location.

Every time a party visited Job’s Dairy at Didcot, a photograph appears to have been taken outside Job’s Hall.

This one was taken in 1960 when the Young Wives Club at St Frideswide’s Church, Didcot, were shown around the plant.

The picture comes from Pat Kent, of Green Close, Didcot.

She writes: “We toured the factory and saw how the milk was bottled.

“We are standing outside the hall used for meals during the working day and as a social venue in the evening.

“I am on the right, second in, and my son (now 52) is the last child on the front right.

“I remember a few names – Pam Hammond, Violet Wells and Gloria Onions.

“The vicar’s wife, Angela Griffiths, is the lady with the hat on the right hand side of the doorway.”

As we recalled last year, Job’s lorries and milk floats were a familiar sight in the Oxford area for many years.

The firm’s roots can be traced back to 1819, when William Porter started in business at Teddington, in Middlesex.

Under Louisa Roberts and her son, Henry, the firm expanded into one of the biggest in the region.

The dairy was named after Louisa’s second husband, Handel Alfred Job, although he figures very little in the firm’s history.

The Didcot dairy opened in the mid-1930s and supplied milk and dairy products over a wide area.

It was sold to Express Dairy in 1970 and the rest of the business, at Hanwell, in Middlesex, was taken over by Unigate in 1987.

Job’s was not only run by a family, but employed whole families.

Several readers have told us how the firm provided work for a number of their relatives.

Employees could also enjoy a varied social life – the firm’s social club provided a range of activities, including days out, football tournaments, darts, dancing, an annual ball, and a sports day.

Any more memories of Job’s operations in Oxfordshire to share with readers? Let me know.